Jess Haynie
The Dallas Cowboys have disclosed that Running Back Ezekiel Elliott is dealing with a calf injury sustained during Tuesday’s loss to the Baltimore Ravens. His status for Sunday’s Week 14 matchup with the Cincinnati Bengals is not yet clear, but should Dallas even risk playing Zeke given where their season is at this point?
Though they did not have a true practice yesterday following their Tuesday night game, Dallas did release an injury report based on projected participation. Elliott was given a “limited” status and Mike McCarthy told media yesterday that he didn’t see that changing much today or tomorrow.
Zeke is certainly not a guy who needs much practice and could be a game-time decision for Sunday. But should the Cowboys rush him back onto the field with their season nearly over?
After falling to 3-9 and seeing the Giants and the Football Team move to 5-7 with surprising road wins, Dallas’ hopes of winning the NFC East were all-but-extinguished in Week 13. They would need to win three of their last four games and have Washington go 1-3 in these final weeks to overcome the margin and the head-to-head tiebreaker.
As winnable as their upcoming games against the Bengals, 49ers, Eagles, and Giants may seem on paper, this Cowboys team has given little reason to think they’re capable of going on a run. And even if they did, Washington has lots of momentum right now and similarly easy schedule the rest o the way.
I wrote yesterday that it’s time for Dallas to start focusing on the future. Sitting Elliott this week, and perhaps beyond, would better ensure his health for 2021 and give some other players more opportunities for experience.
Tony Pollard has already shown that he can be a dangerous, versatile weapon in the Cowboys offense. But what about playing as the primary back? So far Pollard’s never had more than 16 touches in a single game or played on even 40% of the offensive snaps.
How about rookie RB Rico Dowdle? Though he’s been active for 11 games this year Rico’s only had three meaningless carries in Dallas’ blowout loss to Arizona. His one highlight so far is a big kickoff return that helped the Cowboys nearly upset the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 9.
Only the Cowboys know how much they’re still trying to win games and keep their slim mathematical hopes of winning the NFC East alive. But the big picture shows a team with little left to play for and a lot riding on next season for its new head coach’s job security. They should start making decision with the long view in mind.
You hit the nail on the head Cowboys Fan! Even if our offense was healthy we would have still lost most of our games simply because our defense is so bad! I still believe that with the right defensive scheme and putting our players in the right position to make plays our defense would be a whole lot better! And that’s with the guys we have now ! It’s amazing how a good coach can make a difference in a team with what seems to be average players!
Bret h. Lewis…. Jerry is not gonna fire Mike Mccarthy, it’s not Mike Mccarthys fault we’ve lost this many games, it’s our defense that caused us to lose all these games, and that’s mostly on Mike Nolan!! So it’s possible Mike Nolan gets fired, but Mike Mccarthy will be coaching our team for a while!!
If EE is hurt there is no need to play him! I believe that every time you take the field you owe it to your fans and fellow team mates to give everything you have to win but if he is not at at least 80 percent then rest him!
No he won’t fire McCarthy because that would be admitting how big a mistake hiring him was but on Zeke has he been playing or was that someone else in his uniform I hope it’s been someone else
Is there any way Jerry fires McCarthy at the end of the season?